Chapter 79

Length"y (-), a. [Compar. Lengthier (-*r); superl. Lengthiest.] Having length; rather long or too long; prolix; not brief; -- said chiefly of discourses, writings, and the like. "Lengthy periods." Washington. "Some lengthy additions." Byron. "These would be details too lengthy." Jefferson. "To cut short lengthy explanations." Trench.

{ Le"ni*ence (l"n*ens or ln"yens; 106), Le"ni*en*cy (l"n*en*s or ln"yen*s), } n. The quality or state of being lenient; lenity; clemency.

Le"ni*ent (l"n*ent or ln"yent), a. [L. leniens, - entis, p. pr. of lenire to soften, fr. lenis soft, mild. Cf. Lithe.]

1. Relaxing; emollient; softening; assuasive; -- sometimes followed by of. "Lenient of grief." Milton.

Of relax the fibers, are lenient, balsamic.

Arbuthnot.

Time, that on all things lays his lenient hand.

Pope.

2. Mild; clement; merciful; not rigorous or severe; as, a lenient disposition; a lenient judge or sentence.

Le"ni*ent, n. (Med.) A lenitive; an emollient.

Le"ni*ent*ly, adv. In a lenient manner.

Len"i*fy (ln"*f), v. t. [L. lenis soft, mild + -fy: cf. F. lénifier.] To assuage; to soften; to mitigate; to alleviate. Bacon. Dryden.

Len"i*ment (-ment), n. [L. lenimentum: cf. OF. leniment. See Lenient.] An assuasive. [Obs.]

Len"i*tive (-tv), a. [Cf. F. lénitif. See Lenient.] Having the quality of softening or mitigating, as pain or acrimony; assuasive; emollient.

Len"i*tive, n. [Cf. F. lénitif.] 1. (Med.) (a) A medicine or application that has the quality of easing pain or protecting from the action of irritants. (b) A mild purgative; a laxative.

2. That which softens or mitigates; that which tends to allay passion, excitement, or pain; a palliative.

There is one sweet lenitive at least for evils, which Nature holds out; so I took it kindly at her hands, and fell asleep.

Sterne.

Len"i*tive*ness, n. The quality of being lenitive.

Len"i*tude (-td), n. [L. lenitudo.] The quality or habit of being lenient; lenity. [Obs.] Blount.

Len"i*ty (-t), n. [L. lenitas, fr. lenis soft, mild: cf. OF. lenité. See Lenient.] The state or quality of being lenient; mildness of temper or disposition; gentleness of treatment; softness; tenderness; clemency; -- opposed to severity and rigor.

His exceeding lenity disposes us to be somewhat too severe.

Macaulay.

Syn. -- Gentleness; kindness; tenderness; softness; humanity; clemency; mercy.

Len`ni-Len*a"pe (ln`n- ln*ä"p), n. pl. (Ethnol.) A general name for a group of Algonquin tribes which formerly occupied the coast region of North America from Connecticut to Virginia. They included the Mohicans, Delawares, Shawnees, and several other tribes.

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Le"no (l"n), n. [Cf. It. leno weak, flexible.] A light open cotton fabric used for window curtains.

Le*noc"i*nant (l*ns"*nant), a. [L. lenocinans, p. pr. of lenocinari to pander, cajole; akin to leno pimp.] Given to lewdness. [Obs.]

Lens (lnz), n.; pl. Lenses (-z). [L. lens a lentil. So named from the resemblance in shape of a double convex lens to the seed of a lentil. Cf. Lentil.] (Opt.) A piece of glass, or other transparent substance, ground with two opposite regular surfaces, either both curved, or one curved and the other plane, and commonly used, either singly or combined, in optical instruments, for changing the direction of rays of light, and thus magnifying objects, or otherwise modifying vision. In practice, the curved surfaces are usually spherical, though rarely cylindrical, or of some other figure.

Lenses

Of spherical lenses, there are six varieties, as shown in section in the figures herewith given: viz., a plano-concave; b double-concave; c plano-convex; d double- convex; e converging concavo-convex, or converging meniscus; f diverging concavo-convex, or diverging meniscus.

Crossed lens (Opt.), a double-convex lens with one radius equal to six times the other. -- Crystalline lens. (Anat.) See Eye. -- Fresnel lens (Opt.), a compound lens formed by placing around a central convex lens rings of glass so curved as to have the same focus; used, especially in lighthouses, for concentrating light in a particular direction; -- so called from the inventor. -- Multiplying lens or glass (Opt.), a lens one side of which is plane and the other convex, but made up of a number of plane faces inclined to one another, each of which presents a separate image of the object viewed through it, so that the object is, as it were, multiplied. -- Polyzonal lens. See Polyzonal.

Lent (lnt), imp. & p. p. of Lend.

Lent, n. [OE. lente, lenten, leynte, AS. lengten, lencten, spring, lent, akin to D. lente, OHG. lenzin, langiz, G. lenz, and perh. fr. AS. lang long, E. long, because at this season of the year the days lengthen.] (Eccl.) A fast of forty days, beginning with Ash Wednesday and continuing till Easter, observed by some Christian churches as commemorative of the fast of our Savior.

Lent lily (Bot.), the daffodil; -- so named from its blossoming in spring.

Lent, a. [L. lentus; akin to lenis soft, mild: cf. F. lent. See Lenient.] 1. Slow; mild; gentle; as, lenter heats. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

2. (Mus.) See Lento.

||Len`ta*men"te (ln`t*mn"t; E. ln`t*mn"t), adv. [It.] (Mus.) Slowly; in ||slow time. || ||Len*tan"do (ln*tän"d; E. ln*tn"d), a. [It., p. pr. of lentare to make ||slow. See Lent, a.] (Mus.) Slackening; retarding. Same as ||Rallentando. || Lent"en (lnt"'n), n. Lent. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

Lent"en, a. [From OE. lenten lent. See Lent, n. ] 1. Of or pertaining to the fast called Lent; used in, or suitable to, Lent; as, the Lenten season.

She quenched her fury at the flood, And with a Lenten salad cooled her blood.

Dryden.

2. Spare; meager; plain; somber; unostentatious; not abundant or showy. "Lenten entertainment." " Lenten answer." Shak. " Lenten suit." Beau. & Fl.

Lenten color, black or violet. F. G. Lee.

Lent"en*tide` (-td`), n. The season of Lenten or Lent.

Len"ti*cel (ln"t*sl), n. [F. lenticelle, dim. fr. L. lens, lentis, a lentil. Cf. Lentil.] (Bot.) (a) One of the small, oval, rounded spots upon the stem or branch of a plant, from which the underlying tissues may protrude or roots may issue, either in the air, or more commonly when the stem or branch is covered with water or earth. (b) A small, lens-shaped gland on the under side of some leaves.

Len`ti*cel"late (ln`t*sl"lt), a. (Bot.) Producing lenticels; dotted with lenticels.

Len`ti*celle" (ln`t*sl"), n. [F.] (Bot.) Lenticel.

||Len*tic"u*la (ln*tk"*l), n.; pl. E. Lenticulas (- lz), L. Lenticulæ ||(-l). [L. See Lenticel.] 1. (Med.) A kind of eruption upon the skin; ||lentigo; freckle. || 2. (Opt.) A lens of small size.

3. (Bot.) A lenticel.

Len*tic"u*lar (-lr), a. [L. lenticularis: cf. F. lenticulaire. See Lenticel.] Resembling a lentil in size or form; having the form of a double-convex lens.

Len*tic"u*lar*ly, adv. In the manner of a lens; with a curve.

Len"ti*form (ln"t*fôrm), a. [L. lens, lentis, lentil + - form: cf. F. lentiforme.] Lenticular.

Len*tig"i*nose` (ln*tj"*ns`), a. [See Lentiginous.] (Bot.) Bearing numerous dots resembling freckles.

Len*tig"i*nous (-ns), a. [L. lentiginosus. See Lentigo.] Of or pertaining to lentigo; freckly; scurfy; furfuraceous.

||Len*ti"go (ln*t"g), n. [L., fr. lens, lentis, lentil.] (Med.) A ||freckly eruption on the skin; freckles. || Len"til (ln"tl), n. [F. lentille, fr. L. lenticula, dim. of lens, lentis, lentil. Cf. Lens.] (Bot.) A leguminous plant of the genus Ervum (Ervum Lens), of small size, common in the fields in Europe. Also, its seed, which is used for food on the continent.

The lentil of the Scriptures probably included several other vetchlike plants.

Lentil shell (Zoöl.), a small bivalve shell of the genus Ervillia, family Tellinidæ.

{ Len*tis"cus (ln*ts"ks), Len"tisk (ln"tsk), } n. [L. lentiscus, lentiscum: cf. F. lentisque.] (Bot.) A tree; the mastic. See Mastic.

Len"ti*tude (ln"t*td), n. [L. lentitudo, fr. lentus slow: cf. OF. lentitude. See Lent, a.] Slowness; sluggishness. [Obs.]

||Len"to (ln"t; E. ln"t), a. & adv. [It.] (Mus.) Slow; in slow time; ||slowly; -- rarely written lente. || Len"toid (ln"toid), a. [Lens + -oid.] Having the form of a lens; lens- shaped.

||Len"tor (-tr), n. [L., fr. lentus pliant, tough, slow. See Lent, a.] ||1. Tenacity; viscidity, as of fluids. || 2. Slowness; delay; sluggishness. Arbuthnot.

Len"tous (-ts), a. [L. lentus. See Lentor.] Viscid; viscous; tenacious.

Spawn of a lentous and transparent body.

Sir T. Browne.

||L'en`voi", or L'en`voy" (län`vwä"), n. [F. le the + envoi a sending. ||See Envoy.] 1. One or more detached verses at the end of a literary ||composition, serving to convey the moral, or to address the poem to a ||particular person; -- orig. employed in old French poetry. Shak. || 2. A conclusion; a result. Massinger.

||Le"o (l"), n. [L. See Lion.] (Astron.) 1. The Lion, the fifth sign of ||the zodiac, marked thus [] in almanacs. || 2. A northern constellation east of Cancer, containing the bright star Regulus at the end of the handle of the Sickle.

Leo Minor, a small constellation between Leo and the Great Bear.

Le"od (l"d), n. [AS. leód people, nation, man, chief; akin to OS. liud, OHG. liut, pl. liuti, G. leute, pl., fr. AS. leódan to grow, akin to Goth. liudan, OS. liodan, OHG. liotan to grow; cf. Skr. ruh. &radic;123.] People; a nation; a man. [Obs.] Piers Plowman. Bp. Gibson.

Le"on (l"n), n. A lion. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Le"onced (l"nst), a. (Her.) See Lionced.

Le`o*nese" (l`*nz" or - ns"), a. Of or pertaining to Leon, in Spain. -- n. sing. & pl. A native or natives of Leon.

Le"o*nid (l"*nd), n. [From Leo: cf. F. léonides, pl.] (Astron.) One of the shooting stars which constitute the star shower that recurs near the fourteenth of November at intervals of about thirty-three years; -- so called because these shooting stars appear on the heavens to move in lines directed from the constellation Leo.

Le"o*nine (l"*nn), a. [L. leoninus, fr. leo, leonis, lion: cf. F. léonin. See Lion.] Pertaining to, or characteristic of, the lion; as, a leonine look; leonine rapacity. -- Le"o*nine*ly, adv.

Leonine verse, a kind of verse, in which the end of the line rhymes with the middle; -- so named from Leo, or Leoninus, a Benedictine and canon of Paris in the twelfth century, who wrote largely in this measure, though he was not the inventor. The following line is an example:

Gloria factorum temere conceditur horum.

Le*on"to*don (l*n"t*dn), n. [Gr. le`wn, le`ontos, lion + 'odoy`s, 'odo`ntos, tooth. Cf. Lion's- tooth, Dandelion.] (Bot.) A genus of liguliflorous composite plants, including the fall dandelion (L. autumnale), and formerly the true dandelion; -- called also lion's tooth.

Leop"ard (lp"rd), n. [OE. leopart, leparde, lebarde, libbard, OF. leopard, liepart, F. léopard, L. leopardus, fr. Gr. leo`pardos; le`wn lion + pa`rdos pard. See Lion, and Pard.] (Zoöl.) A large, savage, carnivorous mammal (Felis leopardus). It is of a yellow or fawn color, with rings or roselike clusters of black spots along the back and sides. It is found in Southern Asia and Africa. By some the panther (Felis pardus) is regarded as a variety of leopard.

Hunting leopard. See Cheetah. -- Leopard cat (Zoöl.) any one of several species or varieties of small, spotted cats found in Africa, Southern Asia, and the East Indies; esp., Felis Bengalensis. -- Leopard marmot. See Gopher, 2.

Leop"ard's bane` (lp"rdz bn`). (Bot.) A name of several harmless plants, as Arnica montana, Senecio Doronicum, and Paris quadrifolia.

Leop"ard*wood`, n. (Bot.) See Letterwood.

Lep (lp), obs. strong imp. of Leap. Leaped. Chaucer.

Lep"a*dite (-*dt), n. [L. lepas, lepadis, limpet, Gr. lepa`s, lepa`dos.] (Zoöl.) Same as Lepadoid.

Lep"a*doid (-*doid), n. [Lepas + -oid.] (Zoöl.) A stalked barnacle of the genus Lepas, or family Lepadidæ; a goose barnacle. Also used adjectively.

Lep"al (lp"al), n. [Gr. lepi`s a scale: cf. F. lépale.] (Bot.) A sterile transformed stamen.

||Le"pas (l"ps), n. [L., a limpet, fr. Gr. lepa`s.] (Zoöl.) Any one of ||various species of Lepas, a genus of pedunculated barnacles found ||attached to floating timber, bottoms of ships, Gulf weed, etc.; -- ||called also goose barnacle. See Barnacle. || Lep"er (lp"r), n. [OE. lepre leprosy, F. lèpre, L. leprae, lepra, fr. Gr. le`pra, fr. lepro`s scaly, fr. le`pos scale, le`pein to peel.] A person affected with leprosy.

Lep"ered (-rd), a. Affected or tainted with leprosy.

Lep"er*ize (lp"r*z), v. t. To affect with leprosy.

Lep"er*ous (-r*s), a. Leprous; infectious; corrupting; poisonous. "The leperous distillment." Shak.

Lep"id (-d), a. [L. lepidus.] Pleasant; jocose. [R.]

The joyous and lepid consul.

Sydney Smith.

Lep"i*dine (lp"*dn or *dn), n. (Chem.) An organic base, C9H6.N.CH3, metameric with quinaldine, and obtained by the distillation of cinchonine.

Lep`i*do*den"drid (lp`*d*dn"drd), n. (Paleon.) One of an extinct family of trees allied to the modern club mosses, and including Lepidodendron and its allies.

Lep`i*do*den"droid (-droid), a. (Paleon.) Allied to, or resembling, Lepidodendron. -- n. A lepidodendrid.

||Lep`i*do*den"dron (-drn), n. [NL., fr. Gr. lepi`s -i`dos, a scale + ||de`ndron tree.] (Paleon.) A genus of fossil trees of the Devonian and ||Carboniferous ages, having the exterior marked with scars, mostly in ||quincunx order, produced by the separation of the leafstalks. || Lep`i*do*ga"noid (lp`*d*g"noid or -gn"oid), n. [Gr. lepi`s -i`dos, a scale + E. ganoid.] (Zoöl.) Any one of a division (Lepidoganoidei) of ganoid fishes, including those that have scales forming a coat of mail. Also used adjectively.

Le*pid"o*lite (l*pd"*lt; 277), n. [Gr. lepi`s -i`dos, a scale + -lite: cf. F. lépidolithe.] (Min.) A species of mica, of a lilac or rose-violet color, containing lithia. It usually occurs in masses consisting of small scales. See Mica.

Lep`i*dom"e*lane (lp`*dm"*ln), n. [Gr. lepi`s -i`dos, a scale + me`las, me`laina, black.] (Min.) An iron-potash mica, of a raven-black color, usually found in granitic rocks in small six-sided tables, or as an aggregation of minute opaque scales. See Mica.

Lep`i*dop"ter (lp`*dp"tr), n. [Cf. F. lépidoptère.] (Zoöl.) One of the Lepidoptera.

||Lep`i*dop"te*ra (-dp"t*r), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. lepi`s - i`dos, a ||scale + ptero`n a feather, wing.] (Zoöl.) An order of insects, which ||includes the butterflies and moths. They have broad wings, covered ||with minute overlapping scales, usually brightly colored. || They have a tubular proboscis, or haustellum, formed by the two slender maxillæ. The labial palpi are usually large, and the proboscis, when not in use, can be coiled up spirally between them. The mandibles are rudimentary. The larvæ, called caterpillars, are often brightly colored, and they commonly feed on leaves. The adults feed chiefly on the honey of flowers.

{ Lep`i*dop"ter*al (-tr*al), Lep`i*dop"ter*ous (-s), } a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Lepidoptera.

Lep`i*dop"ter*ist, n. (Zoöl.) One who studies the Lepidoptera.

||Lep`i*do*sau"ri*a (-d*s"r*), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. lepi`s - i`dos, a ||scale + say^ros a lizard.] (Zoöl.) A division of reptiles, including ||the serpents and lizards; the Plagiotremata. || Lep`i*do*si"ren (-s"rn), n. [Gr. lepi`s -i`dos, a scale + seirh`n a siren.] (Zoöl.) An eel- shaped ganoid fish of the order Dipnoi, having both gills and lungs. It inhabits the rivers of South America. The name is also applied to a related African species (Protopterus annectens). The lepidosirens grow to a length of from four to six feet. Called also doko.

{ Lep"i*dote (lp"*dt), Lep"i*do`ted (-d`td), } a. [Gr. lepidwto`s covered with scales, fr. lepi`s -i`dos, a scale.] (Bot.) Having a coat of scurfy scales, as the leaves of the oleaster.

||Le*pis"ma (l*pz"m), n. [NL., fr. Gr. le`pisma peel, fr. lepi`s ||-i`dos, a scale.] (Zoöl.) A genus of wingless thysanurous insects ||having an elongated flattened body, covered with shining scales and ||terminated by seven unequal bristles. A common species (Lepisma ||saccharina) is found in houses, and often injures books and ||furniture. Called also shiner, silver witch, silver moth, and ||furniture bug. || Le*pis"moid (-moid), a. [Lepisma + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Like or pertaining to the Lepisma.

Lep"o*rine (lp"*rn or - rn), a. [L. leporinus, fr. lepus, leporis, hare. See Leveret.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to a hare; like or characteristic of, a hare.

||Le"pra (l"pr), n. [L. See Leper.] (Med.) Leprosy. || The term lepra was formerly given to various skin diseases, the leprosy of modern authors being Lepra Arabum. See Leprosy.

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Lep"re (lp"r), n. Leprosy.[Obs.] Wyclif.

Lep"rose` (lp"rs`), a. [See Leprous.] (Nat. Hist.) Covered with thin, scurfy scales.

Le*pros"i*ty (l*prs"*t), n. The state or quality of being leprous or scaly; also, a scale. Bacon.

Lep"ro*sy (lp"r*s), n. [See Leprous.] (Med.) A cutaneous disease which first appears as blebs or as reddish, shining, slightly prominent spots, with spreading edges. These are often followed by an eruption of dark or yellowish prominent nodules, frequently producing great deformity. In one variety of the disease, anæsthesia of the skin is a prominent symptom. In addition there may be wasting of the muscles, falling out of the hair and nails, and distortion of the hands and feet with destruction of the bones and joints. It is incurable, and is probably contagious.

The disease now called leprosy, also designated as Lepra or Lepra Arabum, and Elephantiasis Græcorum, is not the same as the leprosy of the ancients. The latter was, indeed, a generic name for many varieties of skin disease (including our modern leprosy, psoriasis, etc.), some of which, among the Hebrews, rendered a person ceremonially unclean. A variety of leprosy of the Hebrews (probably identical with modern leprosy) was characterized by the presence of smooth, shining, depressed white patches or scales, the hair on which participated in the whiteness, while the skin and adjacent flesh became insensible. It was an incurable disease.

Lep"rous (-rs), a. [OF. leprous, lepros, F. lépreux, fr. L. leprosus, fr. lepra, leprae, leprosy. See Leper.]

1. Infected with leprosy; pertaining to or resembling leprosy. "His hand was leprous as snow." Ex. iv. 6.

2. (Nat. Hist.) Leprose.

-- Lep"rous*ly, adv. -- Lep"rous*ness, n.

Lep"ry (-r), n. Leprosy. [Obs.] Holland.

Lep"ti*form (-t*fôrm), a. [Leptus + -form.] (Zoöl.) Having a form somewhat like leptus; -- said of active insect larvæ having three pairs of legs. See Larva.

||Lep`to*car"di*a (lp`t*kär"d*), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. lepto`s small + ||kardi`a the heart.] (Zoöl.) The lowest class of Vertebrata, including ||only the Amphioxus. The heart is represented only by a simple ||pulsating vessel. The blood is colorless; the brain, renal organs, ||and limbs are wanting, and the backbone is represented only by a ||simple, unsegmented notochord. See Amphioxus. [Written also ||Leptocardii.] || Lep`to*car"di*an (-an), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Leptocardia. -- n. One of the Leptocardia.

Lep`to*dac"tyl (-dk"tl), n. [Gr. lepto`s small, thin + da`ktylos finger, toe.] (Zoöl.) A bird or other animal having slender toes. [Written also lepodactyle.]

Lep`to*dac"tyl*ous (-s), a. Having slender toes.

Lep*tol"o*gy (lp*tl"*j), n. [Gr. leptologi`a; lepto`s small, subtile + lo`gos discourse.] A minute and tedious discourse on trifling things.

||Lep`to*men`in*gi"tis (lp`t*mn`n*j"ts), n. [NL., fr. Gr. lepto`s small ||+ meningitis.] (Med.) Inflammation of the pia mater or of the ||arachnoid membrane. || Lep"to*rhine (lp"t*rn or *rn), a. [Gr. lepto`s small + "ri`s, "rino`s, the nose.] (Anat.) Having the nose narrow; -- said esp. of the skull. Opposed to platyrhine.

||Lep*tos"tra*ca (lp*ts"tr*k), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. lepto`s thin, ||slender + 'o`strakon shell of a testacean.] (Zoöl.) An order of ||Crustacea, including Nebalia and allied forms. || ||Lep"to*thrix (lp"t*thrks), n. [NL., fr. Gr. lepto`s small + qri`x ||hair.] (Biol.) A genus of bacteria, characterized by having their ||filaments very long, slender, and indistinctly articulated. || ||Lep"to*thrix, a. [See Leptothrix, n. ] (Biol.) Having the form of a ||little chain; -- applied to bacteria when, as in multiplication by ||fission, they form a chain of filiform individuals. || ||Lep"tus (lp"ts), n. [NL., from Gr. lepto`s thin, small.] (Zoöl.) The ||six-legged young, or larva, of certain mites; -- sometimes used as a ||generic name. See Harvest mite, under Harvest. || Lep"ty*nite (lp"t*nt), n. (Min.) See Granulite.

Lere (lr), n. [See Lore knowledge.] Learning; lesson; lore. [Obs.] Spenser.

Lere, v. t. & i. [OE. leeren, leren, AS. lran. See Lore, Learn.] To learn; to teach. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Lere, a. Empty. [Obs.] See Leer, a.

Lere, n. [AS. lira flesh; cf. Icel. lær thigh.] Flesh; skin. [Obs.] "His white leer." Chaucer.

Ler"ed (lr"d), a. [From lere, v. t.] Learned. [Obs.] " Lewed man or lered." Chaucer.

||Ler*næ"a (lr*n"), n. [NL., fr. L. Lernaeus Lernæan, fr. Lerna, Gr. ||Le`rnh, a forest and marsh near Argos, the mythological abode of the ||hydra.] (Zoöl.) A Linnæan genus of parasitic Entomostraca, -- the ||same as the family Lernæidæ. || The genus is restricted by modern zoölogists to a limited number of species similar to Lernæa branchialis found on the gills of the cod.

||Ler`næ*a"ce*a (lr`n*"sh*), n. pl. [NL. See Lernæa.] (Zoöl.) A ||suborder of copepod Crustacea, including a large number of remarkable ||forms, mostly parasitic on fishes. The young, however, are active and ||swim freely. See Illustration in Appendix. || Ler*ne"an (lr*n"an), n. [See Lernæa.] (Zoöl.) One of a family (Lernæidæ) of parasitic Crustacea found attached to fishes and other marine animals. Some species penetrate the skin and flesh with the elongated head, and feed on the viscera. See Illust. in Appendix.

||Lé`rot" (l`r"), n. [F.] (Zoöl.) A small European rodent (Eliomys ||nitela), allied to the dormouse. || Les (ls), n. A leash. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Les"bi*an (ls"b*an), a. Of or pertaining to the island anciently called Lesbos, now Mitylene, in the Grecian Archipelago.

Lese (lz), v. t. To lose. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Lese`-maj"es*ty (-mj"s*t), n. See Leze majesty.

Le"sion (l"zhn), n. [F. lésion, L. laesio, fr. laedere, laesum, to hurt, injure.] A hurt; an injury. Specifically: (a) (Civil Law) Loss sustained from failure to fulfill a bargain or contract. Burrill. (b) (Med.) Any morbid change in the exercise of functions or the texture of organs. Dunglison.

-less (-ls). [AS. leás loose, false; akin to OS. ls loose, false, D. los loose, loos false, sly, G. los loose, Icel. lauss loose, vacant, Goth. laus empty, vain, and also to E. loose, lose. &radic;127. See Lose, and cf. Loose, Leasing.] A privative adjective suffix, denoting without, destitute of, not having; as witless, childless, fatherless.

Less (ls), conj. Unless. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Less, a. [OE. lesse, AS. lssa; akin to OFries. lssa; a compar. from a lost positive form. Cf. Lesser, Lest, Least. Less has the sense of the comparative degree of little.] Smaller; not so large or great; not so much; shorter; inferior; as, a less quantity or number; a horse of less size or value; in less time than before.

The substantive which less qualifies is often omitted; as, the purse contained less (money) than ten dollars. See Less, n.

Thus in less [time] than a hundred years from the coming of Augustine, all England became Christian.

E. A. Freeman.

Less, adv. [AS. ls. See Less, adj., and cf. Lest.] Not so much; in a smaller or lower degree; as, less bright or loud; less beautiful.

Less, n. 1. A smaller portion or quantity.

The children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.

Ex. xvi. 17.

2. The inferior, younger, or smaller.

The less is blessed of the better.

Heb. vii. 7.

Less, v. t. To make less; to lessen. [Obs.] Gower.

Les*see" (ls*s"), n. [F. laissé, p. p. of laisser. See Lease, v. t.] (Law) The person to whom a lease is given, or who takes an estate by lease. Blackstone.